Flipkart and Amazon offer consumers instant credit against their Aadhaar number

Flipkart's big billion days sale and Amazon's Great Indian Festival have already begun, and while both are offering massive discounts, they've also announced the use of Aadhaar number to get credit.This is worrying because, as of now, according to the lastest Aadhaar hearing, Supreme Court has decided to strike down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act, which means that private entities are no longer allowed to use Aadhaar for verification purposes.[caption id="attachment_4850401" align="alignnone" width="1280"]

Aadhaar card. tech2/Kshitij Pujari[/caption]It is the flagship sale for both the online retail companies, and we can imagine what it means to them. However, letting people get instant credit upon using Aadhaar and without any credit or debit card doesn't really make sense given the recent verdict.Amazon and Flipkart customers are offered instant loans, if they lack sufficient money or credit, so they can buy during the sale season. Credits up to Rs 60,000 can be taken on both the e-commerce websites.To do so, users will have to enter their PAN and Aadhaar numbers, and then check how much credit has been approved.According to a report by The Times of India, lawyers believe that this offer is in direct violation of the verdict. P Wilson, who is the former additional solicitor general of India, told the publication that "the SC verdict is very clear and there can be no justification for private companies asking for such details."